People of Anaplan: Meet Darlyn Yang
My stomach dropped. I had four days to create a model for my client, who’d recently implemented the Anaplan platform. They needed a five-year financial planning model, something they’d never had before. There was no team to help: their success was dependent on me.
I talked to my colleagues about their methodologies in process, data sources, mapping, and modeling logic, and when that fourth day arrived, I was proud to present their leadership team with a working, multi-dimensional financial planning model. I’d used their real data so that they could instantly see value in the model and manipulate the data by date range, region, or industry.
They were impressed. And it proved that if I could get up to speed on Anaplan in four day’s time, their own staff could too!
The long and winding road to Anaplan
Before joining Anaplan in December 2017, I spent a few years working as a Hyperion (Oracle) Planning and Essbase consultant in the APAC region. I studied Management and Communications Technology at university and participated in Oracle’s Graduate Training Program with roles within sales, pre-sales, and consulting. What I quickly realized was that at a traditional technology company like Oracle, my role was restricted by a pre-defined scope of what it would become. I’d hoped for more, wanting to be a part of a company with a culture that empowers its employees to reach new heights and be innovative.
The lunch date that changed everything
When a colleague who’d recently left Oracle took me to lunch, she couldn’t stop raving about her new company’s product. The Anaplan platform as a multidimensional planning and analytics platform was a game changer, and it could be applied to almost any use case. This was next-level.
When Anaplan had an opening for a Customer Success Business Partner, and I immediately jumped at the opportunity to join this small but extremely close-knit team. In my interview, I met my current manager, Chris. His passion for the work he was doing at Anaplan was evident. Like me, he came from a consulting background and took pride in helping companies solve their challenges. The Anaplan team’s dedication and energy for blazing a new trail in Australia was contagious. I still feel it every day. Everyone I work with is driven, innovative, and truly believes in Anaplan’s mission.
Getting up to warp-speed with Anaplan
During the onboarding process, I participated in multiple trainings using the Anaplan platform. Although I’m a geek at heart, I’m not a coder. But that hasn’t stopped me from learning the ins and outs of the tool.
My work is always pushing me to learn, change, and grow, and that’s the best part. When it comes to modeling in Anaplan, each experience is unique yet intuitive. As long as you understand the relevant business processes and what type of questions you want answered, you can build a model to get those answers. It’s that simple.
And because of this, when a client has a unique use case, I have confidence that we can solve it. That’s a pretty amazing feeling.
Interested a career at Anaplan? Check out our Careers page for current job openings.
Curious about the people behind the Anaplan logo? Presenting the People of Anaplan series, which shines a spotlight on our employees around the world. Learn about their interests and hobbies, what makes them tick, and how they help Anaplan drive a new age of connected planning.